Records belie Pike County vet’s claims (Pocono Record) Newly obtained records tell a story profoundly different than the one supporters of Pike County Army veteran Timothy Flaherty have told about how he was injured in Afghanistan.

Vietnam vet a symbol of overcoming VA delays (Orlando Sentinel) A Vietnam War veteran from Fort Lauderdale who suffered severe burns in combat and financial hardship back home will be watching from the House gallery Tuesday night when President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address.

Veterans exposed to cadaver parts from contaminated lab (The Chicago Tribune) he Department of Veterans Affairs ordered $241 million of cadaver tissue and other material derived from human and animal bodies in the last three years, some of it from vendors warned by federal regulators about contamination in their supply chain.

Iowa politicians line up to support veterans (The Palm Beach Post) Gov. Terry Branstad and state lawmakers are billing an effort to enhance services for veterans as a way to attract new residents to Iowa, but it’s tough to gauge if this push will really have an impact on the state population.

Vet Groups Vow to Fight Commissary Cuts (Military.com) Military family and benefits advocates said they plan to fight a new Pentagon proposal to gut the commissary program by slashing its funding.

Elder Law: Congress likely to change Veterans Affairs benefits this year (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) While only a small percentage of the millions of veterans and their families use the Aid and Attendance benefit offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, it is clearly a vital program for those in need of medically related assistance with their daily activities.

In State of the Union, military often takes a back seat (Stars and Stripes) Military watchers are hoping the president’s State of the Union speech Tuesday will feature lengthy passages about the war in Afghanistan, the recent reductions in military retirement pay or the veterans claims backlog.